Chapter 34 Don't Be Afraid, I'm Here

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Three o’clock in the afternoon, conference room.

Qin Yiran arrived late.

She took her seat at the head of the table with a graceful air, as if she were still the untouchable Dr. Q.

“How’s Team Leader Qiao’s recovery?” she asked with a beguiling smile. “Calling a meeting right after leaving the hospital—you’re certainly dedicated.”

Across from her, Qiao Xi sat with a calm expression. She ignored Qin Yiran entirely, instead spreading out a thick stack of documents.

“Dr. Qin,” Qiao Xi began, her voice clear and cool, “the purpose of today’s meeting is to review all the experiments carried out in the past month according to your plans—”

“—and the large-scale failures that resulted from them!”

Qin Yiran’s expression faltered, but she forced a smile. “Team Leader Qiao, trial and error is a natural part of scientific research…”

“The process of trial and error does not violate the most basic scientific principles!” Qiao Xi cut her off, projecting the first proposal onto the main screen. “Dr. Qin, did you personally verify this plan? Or have you ever seen such absurd conditions in any published study?!”

A sudden, suffocating silence fell over the room.

All eyes turned to Qin Yiran.

Staring at the screen, Qin Yiran’s face turned ashen; cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

She opened her mouth, struggling for a defense: “Perhaps… perhaps someone on my team made a recording error—”

Qiao Xi let out a cold laugh and brought up the next document. “The proposal bears your personal signature!”

“It’s hard to understand how a true top expert could make mistakes like these!”

She surveyed the room. “You owe us an explanation, Dr. Qin.”

At these words, all pretense of elegance and composure vanished from Qin Yiran’s face, leaving only deep embarrassment.

The facts spoke for themselves, and the evidence Qiao Xi presented left her powerless to retort.

Just as Qin Yiran was at a loss, outside the glass doors of the conference room, Zhou Ze, who had been observing in secret, quickly dialed Fu Yancheng’s number.

Speaking in a low voice, he reported everything that had just transpired.

On the other end, Fu Yancheng listened in silence for a moment, his gaze sharp.

“Notify the HR Director. Prepare the documents immediately.”

He paused. “Transfer all management and execution authority for Project EverYouth to Engineer Qiao Xi.”

Inside the conference room, everyone’s phones buzzed simultaneously.

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It was a message from the company group chat:

President Fu has decided: effective immediately, the head of Project EverYouth is now Engineer Qiao Xi.

Seeing the message, a flicker of surprise crossed Qiao Xi’s eyes before she regained her composure. She rose from her seat, not sparing Qin Yiran another glance, nor waiting for her so-called explanation.

She nodded at Lin Moran and the others. “Meeting adjourned.”

Leaning on her cane, she was the first to leave.

Lin Moran and the others watched as Qin Yiran collapsed, almost boneless, into her chair. Their hearts surged with delight.

They followed Qiao Xi out, a new sense of energy and hope for the project lighting their faces.

The day passed quickly.

Night fell deep and heavy; only a few windows in the Fu Group’s towering building still glowed with light.

Among them was Qiao Xi’s temporary lab.

Meanwhile, on the top floor, in the president’s office, Fu Yancheng finished his last file and closed his laptop. Glancing at his watch, he picked up the internal phone and dialed the lab downstairs.

The phone rang for a long while before Qiao Xi’s weary voice finally answered, “Hello?”

“Still in the lab?” Fu Yancheng’s voice was gentle, low. “It’s late. Time to come home, Mrs. Fu.”

“Just a little longer, I’m almost done checking the data…” Qiao Xi’s words were cut off by a sharp, sudden crackle over the line, followed by a startled gasp.

At almost the same moment, the lights in Fu Yancheng’s office abruptly went out, and his computer screen went black.

The entire floor was swallowed by sudden darkness.

A power outage!

Fu Yancheng’s heart clenched—Qiao Xi was still in the lab, surrounded by equipment and chemical reagents. In the dark, accidents were all too easy.

“Xi Xi!” he shouted into the now-dead phone.

Without a second of hesitation, Fu Yancheng snatched his cell phone from the desk and raced out of his office, heading for the emergency stairs.

He dialed Qiao Xi’s number as he hurried downstairs.

No answer.

In the lab, Qiao Xi was frozen in fear from the blackout, heart pounding wildly.

The silence was suffocating; her colleagues had all gone home.

Only her own rapid breathing disturbed the stillness.

“Yancheng…” she whispered, her voice trembling.

She fumbled for her phone, but accidentally knocked over a beaker—glass shattered across the floor.

At that moment—

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“Qiao Xi!”

An urgent call and the pounding of footsteps echoed from the corridor.

Fu Yancheng appeared at the lab doorway, out of breath, his phone flashlight slicing through the gloom.

He immediately spotted her slender silhouette in the darkness.

“Yancheng!” Qiao Xi cried, her voice thick with tears, as if grasping a lifeline at last.

In a few strides, Fu Yancheng was at her side, pulling her tightly into his arms.

“It’s all right, Xi Xi, don’t be afraid. I’m here!” He wrapped one arm securely around her waist, holding his phone aloft to light the way.

Qiao Xi buried her face in the crook of his neck, her trembling gradually subsiding.

“What happened to the power…?” she murmured.

“It’s probably a wiring issue,” Fu Yancheng replied softly, guiding her carefully away from the lab bench, making sure she didn’t step on broken glass.

His voice was both pained and gently reproachful. “Staying in the lab so late all alone—do you know how worried I was?”

Qiao Xi, still wrapped in his embrace, whispered, “I just wanted to finish the data as soon as possible…”

“Which is more important—the data or you?” Fu Yancheng interrupted, his tone stern yet full of indulgent tenderness.

He carefully checked her hands and legs, anxiety etched on his face. “Did you get hurt? Any glass cuts?”

His hands moved gently over her arms and calves, only relaxing once he was sure she was unharmed.

“I’m fine, really,” Qiao Xi said, blushing under his thorough inspection.

“Good.” Only then did Fu Yancheng truly let out a sigh of relief.

He bent down, carefully avoiding the mess, and lifted her into his arms.

Just then—

A faint, unfamiliar sound came from the direction of the supply cabinet.

In the post-blackout darkness, it was startlingly clear.

Both Fu Yancheng and Qiao Xi tensed.

He had seen for himself—Qiao Xi was the only one working late in the lab.

Who could it be?

“Yancheng…” Qiao Xi clung to his shirt, her fear palpable.

Fu Yancheng reacted instantly, shielding her behind him and shining the phone light toward the source of the noise.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!”